Role reversal for a good cause

Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, October 18, 2011

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Role reversal for a good cause

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Students at Canyon High School put into practice the idea of giving back to the community Monday evening, as they hosted “Dude Volleyball” and “MISS United Way” as a fund raiser to help them reach a goal of $4,321 for the school’s contribution to the Amarillo-Canyon United Way drive.

As a first time event, the crowd was mostly students and parents, but they were enthusiastic in their support of the charity. Lee Stafford, a first year teacher at Canyon High School and the school’s United Way Sponsor, reported after the event, “We estimate that we raised around $1,300 this evening including donations, admission cost, bake sale, and participant fees.”

While volleyball is a girls’ sport in Texas high schools, the boys took over the role Monday with many of the CHS varsity volleyball players serving as coaches, referees and line judges.

The tournament, held in the Canyon gymnasium, was organized as single-set semi-finals played to 25 points that pitted juniors against freshmen and then seniors against sophomores. The winners then faced off in a championship set to 30 points.

In between, the “beauties” flaunted their stuff as 11 male contestants, decked out in dresses, jewelry, some with wigs, and lots of “runway attitude,” appealed to the crowd for donations to their individual candidacies.

The first match began at 6:30 p.m., shortly after the Lady Eagle volleyball team completed their practice. Head volleyball coach Lorrie Hammit was questioned by The Canyon News about what “prospects” she might find among the “talented” group of volleyball players about to be on exhibit.

“Anybody that can jump and block and play really good defense - that’s what I’m looking for,” she said. Asked if any recruits would have to pass a DNA test, she replied, “No, not at all. They will have to wear spandex if they make the team, though.”

Some of the seniors who were warming up prior to the match were very confident of success. “We always have the size factor, but we also have the heart factor.”

As the teams warmed up, Stafford said, “This is Canyon High School’s United Way Youth Cabinet’s idea to have the event. We have 10 kids that are on our youth cabinet. We set a goal for $4,321 this year.”

Explaining where that number came from she said, “They liked the 4-3-2-1. The big campaign is ’10-9-8…’

“Last year they did a dodge-ball tournament during the day, but we weren’t going to be able to do that this year because of all the new testing. So we thought ‘Why don’t we have an event in the evening?’ and one of our girls had this idea for the boys to play volleyball. The girls do powder puff football. And then we thought, ‘What’s something else that would bring people?’ And we thought ‘Why don’t we have them dress up like girls?’ So here we are.”

Many students were involved in the event, either as participants or as spectators. “We have four teams, and all of them have at least 12,” Stafford said. “And then we have 11 pageant beauty contestants. All of the boys in the pageant have two girls to sponsor them and help them get ready. The winner is the one who gets the most money.”

Stafford also noted all the students involved in score-keeping and officiating.

There were several ways the students were working to raise money during the event. The price of admission was $2, but the youth cabinet also hosted a bake sale with items they baked for the event. And then there was the beauty pageant itself.

After being introduced individually, the ‘beauties” went through the crowd with their jars seeking donations.

Tim Gilliland, CHS principal reported, “What they collected was right around $500 in what just got turned in,” from the “votes” for the winner.

The volleyball tournament began with the junior class boys facing the freshmen. In a lop-sided game, the juniors thrashed the freshmen 25-9.

The seniors came into the second match confident of an easy win, but the aggressive sophomores were not to be taken lightly. The second semi-final was a nip and tuck game with swings in momentum and the lead. Down the stretch, however, it was the sophomores who prevailed by a score of 25-22. The seniors were sent to the sidelines for the final.

The final set was to 30 points, and the sophomores, still invigorated from their victory over the seniors, came out ready to play. But the juniors had learned the lesson that overconfidence can be fatal in facing the class of 2014. While the sophomores were determined not to go quietly, it was ultimately, the juniors who prevailed, 30-24, for the championship in the Dude Volleyball tournament that is hoped to become an annual event.

At the conclusion of the championship game, the Beauty Pageant winners were announced.

Christian DeLao was named Miss Congeniality. Isaac Garland was named First Runner Up.

And Marcus Muldrow was named the first winner of Miss United Way, an event that there is already talk of making an annual fund raiser. Although proud of the win, he was humble in victory. “It’s just an honor, first of all,” he said, “to be the first; and everyone who will follow in my footsteps should be glad.”

Muldrow, a senior, said next year he plans, “to go to college, maybe attend WT or Tarleton State.”

He plans to major in accounting.

Anyone wishing to support the CHS United Way drive can make a donation at the high school office, or contact Lee Stafford at lstafford@canyonisd.net or 677-2740.